Cocos Liberals

The Cocos Liberals is the Liberal Party of Australia's affiliate in the Cocos Islands. The Liberals support center-right policies such as social conservatism and economic liberalism, and they are strongly supportive of Australian statehood.

The Liberals were formed in 1945 alongside the national party, and, initially, their main support base consisted of the islands' Hindu Indian and Sunni Malay fishermen. The Liberals were supported due to their social conservatism, with many Hindus and Muslims agreeing that it was important to preserve their religious and ethnic traditions. In the Australian federal election, 1947, the Liberals won in the Cocos Islands, but their rivals, the Cocos Labor Party, won in the Australian federal election, 1949. The Liberals and Labor would be major rivals over the next several decades, often being the two largest parties on the islands.